How current is the ISSAP cheat sheet?

It's built from the current ISC2 ISSAP exam outline and its four-domain weighting, and we review it against that outline regularly so the domains, weights, and passing standard stay accurate.

Can I pass the ISSAP with just the cheat sheet?

No — the cheat sheet is a review and final-week cram aid, not a substitute for working scenario questions. The ISSAP rewards architectural judgment, and you need a scaled score of 700 out of 1000 to pass, so use the sheet to lock in facts and the practice test to build readiness.

How do I get the ISSAP cheat sheet?

Click the download button (or the preview card) at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark this page so you can find it again in the final week before your exam.

Free ISSAP Cheat Sheet 2026 — Downloadable PDF

Q: What's on the ISSAP cheat sheet?

It condenses the highest-yield CISSP-ISSAP facts into a quick reference: the four ISC2 domains and their weights, the core security models (Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark-Wilson), the risk formulas (SLE, ARO, ALE), which crypto key to use for signing versus encrypting, and the SAML/OAuth/OIDC distinction — grouped by the four areas ISC2 weights the exam around.

This ISSAP cheat sheet distills the ISC2 CISSP-ISSAP (Information Systems Security Architecture Professional) exam into a printable rundown of the facts examiners test most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free ISSAP toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.

ISSAP exam at a glance

Questions: 125 items (multiple choice + advanced innovative item types)
Time: 3 hours
Passing score: 700 out of 1000 (scaled)
Cost: About $599 USD, plus a $135 annual maintenance fee that also covers your CISSP

What’s on the ISSAP cheat sheet

Governance, Risk & Compliance (21%) — SABSA, TOGAF, and Zachman frameworks; the SLE, ARO, and ALE risk formulas; the four risk treatments; and privacy by design.
Security Architecture Modeling (22%) — Bell-LaPadula, Biba, and Clark-Wilson models; the reference monitor's three properties; STRIDE threat modeling; and zero trust (PDP/PEP).
Infrastructure & System Security (32%) — the largest domain — network zoning and DMZ, IDS vs. IPS, symmetric vs. asymmetric crypto, PKI and HSMs, and cloud shared responsibility.
Identity & Access Management Architecture (25%) — the ID → authN → authZ → accountability sequence, MFA factors, DAC/MAC/RBAC/ABAC models, and the SAML/OAuth/OIDC/Kerberos distinction.

Highest-yield facts on the sheet

Study by weight: Infrastructure & System Security is the largest domain at 32%, and IAM Architecture is second at 25% — invest there first, but cover all four.
Security models are mirror images: Bell-LaPadula protects confidentiality (no read up, no write down); Biba protects integrity (no read down, no write up).
Crypto direction rule: SIGN with your own private key; ENCRYPT with the recipient's public key — and use a hash (no key) for integrity.
Risk math: SLE = Asset Value × Exposure Factor, and ALE = SLE × ARO — a control is only cost-justified if its annual cost is below the ALE it reduces.
IAM protocols by purpose: OAuth 2.0 is delegated authorization, while SAML and OpenID Connect handle authentication — using OAuth alone to log a user in is the classic trap.

How to use it in your final week

Front-load Infrastructure & System Security (32% of the exam) — network zoning, crypto/PKI, cloud shared responsibility, and resilience. If you master one domain from the sheet, make it this one.
Drill the mirror-image security models until automatic: Bell-LaPadula = confidentiality (no read up, no write down); Biba = integrity (no read down, no write up); Clark-Wilson = integrity via well-formed transactions.
Lock in the crypto direction rule: SIGN with your own private key, ENCRYPT with the recipient's public key — the single most-missed point on the exam.
Read the sheet the morning of the test for a final pass on the memory hooks — SLE × ARO = ALE, the four risk treatments, and OAuth = authorization while SAML/OIDC = authentication.

The cheat sheet is your review layer — your ISSAP practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.

ISSAP cheat sheet FAQ

Yes — the ISSAP cheat sheet is 100% free to download as a PDF, with no sign-up required. It sits alongside Career Employer's free ISSAP practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole prep stack is free.

References

1.ISC2. “ISSAP — Information Systems Security Architecture Professional.” isc2.org, 2026. ↑
2.ISC2. “ISSAP Certification Exam Outline.” isc2.org. ↑
3.National Institute of Standards and Technology. “SP 800-207: Zero Trust Architecture.” csrc.nist.gov. ↑
4.National Institute of Standards and Technology. “SP 800-63: Digital Identity Guidelines.” csrc.nist.gov. ↑

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Your Free ISSAP Cheat Sheet 2026 — Downloadable PDF